Method and apparatus for drying printing ink



F. O. HESS Jan. 6, 1942.

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DRYING PRINTING INK Filed Dec. 29, 1937 2Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR BY M 0.1%

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Jan. 6, 1942. F. o. HESS 2,268,985

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DRYING PRINTING INK Filed Dec. 29, 193'] 2Sheets-Sheet 2 may/m iazzz-W INVENTOR BY Wm.

ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 6, 1942 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR rnm'rma nu:

DRYING I Frederic 0. Hess, Germantown, Pa., assignor, by

mesne assignments; to Intel-chemical Corporation, New York, N. Y.,acorporationof Ohio Application December 29, 1937, Serial No. 182,210

8 Claims.

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for drying printing inkand aims to accelerate the process of printing upon a. material which isinjured by a moderate amount of heat.

A serious limitation upon the speed at which printing presses could beoperated has arisen from the inability to dry with sufficient rapiditythe ink whichis applied to the printed material in the press Thisdifficulty has been remedied in the printing of most materials throughthe use of so-called "quick-drying inks which areset by the applicationof intense heat to the ink during a very brief period. Thesequick-drying printing inks contain a solvent which is substantiallynon-volatile at ordinary press room temperatures C.) and whichvolatilizes very rapidly at about 150C. When a quick-drying ink isapplied to a material such as ordinary paper, it is dried by subjectingthe printed surface of the material during a' very brief period to heatof such great intensity that the solvent is volatilized instantly andthe solvent vapor is removed. The heat applied to-the printed surface ofsuch material is well above the burning point of the material, but theperiod of its application is so brief that the material is not charredor burned. However, some heat is absorbed by the material during theapplication of this intense heat to its printed surface, preventing theutilization of this quick-drying process upon materials which areinjured by a' moderate amount of heat.

I have discovered that a material, such as waxed paper or paper having acoating of glue on its unprinted surface, which is injured by a moderateamount of heat may be prevented from becoming too hot while its printedsurface is subjected to heat ofsuch great intensity that ,the solvent ofa quick-drying ink is volatilized instantly. I In carrying out mymethod, an ink containing a volatilizable solvent which has been printedupon a material which is subject to injury by.

a moderate amount of heat is dried by cooling the material and,simultaneously with the cooling of the material, subjecting its printedsur- -face to heat of such great intensity that the A specificembodiment of apparatus for carrying out my invention is illustrated inthe accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a drier mounted upon the frame of aprinting press;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the drier shown in Fig. 1; and i Fig. 3 isa side elevation of a modified form of drier.

an ordinary typographic press 5 for printing upon a web delivers theprinted material 6 with its printed side uppermost. As the printedmaterial is delivered from the press, it travels in the directionindicated by the arrows through a drier, to be described, and thenceover guide rollers I, 8, 9, l0 and H to arewind roller l2.

The drier illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 comprises a cooling roller 14journalled in a frame (not.

shown) to rotate with the traveling printed material. The cooling roller[4 is of a conventional type and may be chilled by cold water, brine orthe like. A furnace I5 having anopen side is mounted above the coolingroller l4, so that a segment of the cooling roller projects into furnacel5 through its open side and guides the printed material 6 through thefurnace. Communicating with the interior of furnace I5 is a suction ductl6.

In the drier illustrated in Fig. 3, a series of transverse conduits I!for cooling gas, such as cool, dry air, are mounted below the path ofthe printed material 6, and nozzles 18 project from each of thoseconduits toward the unprinted surface of the material 6 to projectstreams I9 of cool gas against that surface. A furnace I5 is mountedabove the path of the web opposite conduits I1 and has a suction.duct l6communicating therewith. 7

Each of the furnaces i5 and I5 is similar to the furnace described in F.O. Hess Patent No. 2,210,032, dated August 6, 1940, and heat is gen- Ierated therein by like means: Manifolds 2|, which are mounted within thefurnace, have burners 22 attached thereto so that a supply of fuel isfed from the manifolds to the burners through valves 23. 'Iheburners 22are preferably formed of a refractory material and, as the printedmaterial Ii travels from the printing press 5 through the drier, theburners, heated to incandescence, are directed toward the printedsurface of the material to subject that surface to heat of greatintensity. Overheating of'the burner manifolds In accordance with myinvention, a printing press is equipped with a drier located in the pathof the printed material. .This drier comprises means for directingintense heat upon the printed surface of the material and means forwithdrawing heat from the material through its opposite surface.

2| is prevented by meansof a partition formed of insulating strips 24between the manifolds 2| and burners 22. a

When a material, such as waxed paper, upon .which a quick-drying ink hasbeen printed, is

delivered from the press, it is caused to travel about the coolingroller ll with its unprinted In the apparatus illustrated in thedrawings,

surface in contact with that roller and its printed surface passesthrough the furnace IS. The intense heat to which the printed surface ofthe material 6 is subjected as it passes through the furnace issuflicient to volatilize instantly the solvent of the ink and burnsubstantially all the solvent vapors. Products of combustion and anyunburned solvent vapor are withdrawn through suction duct l6. At thesame time that intense heat is applied to the printed surface of thematerial 6, the cooling roller ll in contact with the opposite surfaceof the material withdraws heat from the material so that it is preventedfrom becoming too hot.

Some moisture may condense upon the surface of cooling roller 4. If theink be printed upon a material, such as paper having a coating of glueon its unprinted side, which contains a substance that must be kept freefrom moisture, a

drier such as that illustrated in Fig. 3 should to travel away from theapparatus in which the ink is applied, and simultaneously subjecting theprinted surface of the material to heat of sumcient intensity tovolatilize the solvent of the ink and ignite the solvent vapor andprojecting a stream of cool, dry gas against the opposite surface of thematerial.

4. The combinationwith a printing press, of a drier spaced from theprinting means of saidprinting press but located in the path of theprinted material and comprising a furnace adapted to subject the printedsurface of the material to intense heat, cooling means adapted toconnace l5. At the same time, the material is prehave described withoutdeparting from the spirit of my invention as defined in the followingclaims.

What I claim is:

1. The method of drying an ink containing a volatilizable, inflammablesolvent which is substantially non-volatile at room temperature aftersuch ink has been printed upon a material which is subject to injury byheat, which consists in causing the material to travel away from theapparatus in which the ink is applied, subjecting the printed surface ofthe material to heat of suflicient intensity to volatilize the solventof the ink and ignite the solvent vapor at a point in the travel of thematerial and projecting a stream of cool gas against the unprintedsurface of the materiaLat the same point in its travel.

2. The method of drying an ink containing a volatilizable, inflammablesolvent which is substantially non-volatile at room temperature aftersuch ink has been printed upon a material which is subject to injury byheat, which consists in causing the material to travel over a coolingroller with its unprinted surface in contact with the roller, andsubjecting the printed surface of the material to heat of suflicientintensity to volatilize the solvent of the ink and burn the solventvapor at a point in the travelof the material over said cooling roller.

3. The method of drying an ink containing a volatilizable, inflammablesolvent which is sub- .tact the opposite surface of the material, and asaid printing press but located in'the path of the printed web andcomprising a furnace having an open side and adapted to subject theprinted surface of the web to intense heat, a cool roller having asegment extending into said furnace through its open side and engagingthe other surface of the web to direct said web through the furnace andwithdraw heat from the web material, and a suction duct communicatingwith the interior of said furnace.

6. A method of drying atypographic printing ink containing avolatilizable, inflammable solvent which is substantially non-volatileat room temperature, which consists in causing the web to travel awayfrom the apparatus in which the ink is applied, subjecting the printedsurface of the web to heat of sufficient intensity to volatilize thesolvent of the ink, while simultaneously supporting said web andmaintaining the unprinted side thereof at a relatively low temperature,burning the solvent vapors, and removing the burned solvent vapors fromthe region of said web.

7. The combination with a web printing press, of ,a drier spaced fromthe printing means of said printing press but located in the path oftravel of the printed web and comprising a roller for supporting the weband maintaining the unprinted side thereof at a relatively lowtemperature, a furnace including a plurality of gas burners disposedadjacent said roller and the printed side of the web, and a suction ductcommunicating with the interior of said furnace.

8. The combination with a web printing press for applying to a surfaceof the web a typographic printing ink containing a volatilizable,inflammable solvent which is' substantially nonvolatile at roomtemperature, of a drier spaced from the printing means of said printingpress but located in the path of travel of the printed web andcomprising'a roller for supporting the FREDERIC o. HESS.

